Changes

Things are changing around here. Lots of healing has taken place, yet we have a ways to go. It is still a delicate balance, but it IS wonderful to be in a place where we can make some changes.

I am trying to simplify things and streamline things. I am trying to establish healthy routines to make life easier. There are certain things that have to be done everyday, like it or not. I try to get those things done as early in the day as possible. Wet bedding gets first priority everyday, then the regular laundry. Juicing and lunch prep gets priority, then food prep for dinner and thinking ahead for meals later in the week. On GAPS, I have to plan at least a day or two ahead in order to have meat thawed in time or veggies cut and prepared well in advance so that I can just throw things together at meal time.

One wonderful change we have made is establishing a set bedtime, a set wake time, and a set time in the morning to read the Bible and pray. We are wanting to Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness in our lives. Establishing a bedtime has always been difficult because of leg cramps, die-off, rashes, sensory issues, trouble settling, emotional meltdowns, and on my part, just being too tired at the end of the day to pull it all together and make it happen. I have been praying about it, and God, who is very real and ever present in our lives, has been working things out so that it is all falling into place for us. Bonus: I have time to think at the end of the day and time to write in my blog. Yay!!!

I am so enjoying my time spent with God in the morning. Even if I sleep horribly or feel awful when I wake, I am motivated to get up because I do not want to miss spending time with my Lord and my Savior everyday. He is changing me. He is changing my family. I love what He is doing in our lives. Now, my older three children are also getting up early to spend time with God, reading their Bibles and talking to Him as they experience and appreciate His creation. We go outside into our backyard, or front yard, to watch the birds and check on the garden and such. We swing on the swing. We walk about. We garden. We talk to God. It is wonderful!

We do not all go out at the same time. My ten year old and I go out between 6 and 6:30 in the morning. My oldest gets up to read for fun. He keeps his ears open for the little ones, in case they wake up crying as they sometimes do. At 7:15am, my ten year old goes in to get started with chores and to help the little ones get dressed and such, while my six year old joins me outside for her quiet time. We do not talk to each other. We read, pray, think, and garden. At 7:40, I tell her that quiet time is over and we talk and garden together. This is our special time together everyday. My oldest has his quiet time from 7-7:45 in the morning. Then, he starts in on morning chores. My six year old and I go in at 8:00 to get started on morning chores.

Interestingly, we are all motivated to get up in order to have this time with God. Before, I was dragging tired and sick kids from their beds. As a result, they are motivated to go to bed on time so that they will be able to get up in the morning and participate in this special time of communion with God.

So now, my four youngest kids go to bed between 7-7:30pm and my oldest goes to bed between 8-8:30pm. Amazing! Like I said earlier, God, who is very real and ever present in our lives, has been working it all out so that everything is falling into place.

I should also mention that my girls are more willing to go to bed knowing that they will have some guaranteed time with me early the next day, so they are not stalling on bedtime hoping for a little one on one time with Mommy. KES and I garden together in the morning and KRS and I read together in the morning as soon as all of the morning chores are done.

God is healing our minds and our spirits. He is providing sleep, which is so helpful to healing. He is bringing peace. He is bringing quiet, too. We are learning to control our tongues. We are learning to work quietly and cheerfully in the mornings until everything is done. We are learning to work together as a team. We are learning to serve one another.

Quotes you will hear often in my house are as follows:

"Teamwork! It's a beautiful thing!"
"Everyone working until everything is done!"
"In the morning, say only a cheerful 'Good morning!' and do your work quietly, cheerfully, and quickly, yielding to those who are older than you."


The reason I have time to blog is because the children are going to bed so early and all together at the same time, so I sit in the bedroom with the middle three and blog until they fall asleep. Sometimes, like tonight, I stay a little longer. They were all asleep by 8 or so, but I wanted to finish my thoughts. I have time to do this. It used to be that we would still be trying to get kids settled at this time. Ooo, I love it!

This blog is for me to document my GAPS journey and is meant to be a blessing to all who read it. May you be blessed by what God is doing in my life and may He bless your lives richly, too, as you Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the trials that have drawn us ever closer to You. You are answering my prayer to make my children Mighty Warriors in Your Kingdom! They are learning to serve, give, love, and trust. You have done, and continue to do, what I could never have done on my own. You, and You alone, are working in us to will and to act according to Your good purposes. You have a plan for us, to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. You are good and You are good all the time, working all things together for the good of those who love You. Those who obey your commands are the ones who love You. Jesus gave us a new command to love one another. We can rejoice in the trials we face, knowing that these have come so that our faith, which is of greater worth than gold, will be proved genuine and bring praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Heavenly Father, thank You for refining us and for making us more and more like You by skimming off the yucky stuff little by little as it comes to the surface. You are making us more and more beautiful. Continue to strengthen our faith that we might bring You praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Amen.